Anguish released
by Kate Maxwell
Summary: Ed is feeling the guilt of the past, Al talks to him.This goes to all of the risembool rangers out there!


Anguish released

The sounds of punching and small sounds of someone hitting something hard was heard throughout the gymnasium, Alphonse Elric snuck in as much as he could with his suit clunking slightly in his movements as he entered the small gym.

Looking hard at the hard dull punching bag, he found his older brother working out harshly with sweat covering his body as he continued to punch hard at the bag. Al could see Ed's left hand was sore and tender along the knuckles.

"Brother" Al called trying to get through to his brother as he went into the room holding his hands out in surrender.

Ed swung aound and kicked out at his younger brother sliding Al's legs out from under him. "Why! Why did it happen!" He yelled as he continued to fight the larger steel suit his younger brother was sealed to after their failed attempt at human transmutation.

"Brother! Stop!" Al repeated as he defended himself from Edward's attacks in a suit of armor he was now in and had been in the last few years.

While Ed, his brother, lost a arm and a leg only to be replaced by automail made by their childhood friend Winry Rockbell. Ed had to learn how to walk again but he soon found his legs and they started their journey to find the legendary philosphere's stone.

"Why!" Ed screamed again as he jumped around, grabbed Al's arm and swung him around before throwing him onto the padded mats that made part of the gymnasium floor.

Al struggled back up onto his feet and went back to his dance of deflecting the punches and kicks from his brother, he tried to think why Ed would be so angry and take it out on anyone or anything that came into contact with his martial arts.

_It can't have been Winry, or was it that serial killer? Or was it... that's it! _Alphonse realized that Ed was blaming himself for not being able to save Nina from her father, transmuted into a chimera along with the large dog Alexander.

"Ed, you've got to stop! We couldn't do anything to save her, we tried and failed but we saved each other from that... or at least that is what I thought" Al tried to get through to his brother, deflecting a kick with the side of his arm. "But now I can see that you've been carrying all of that pain since then, after what you've been through... I can't imagine how you must have felt when the serial killer threatened you, taken away your arm... but I can imagine the pain of loosing a friend." He continued seeing that Edward was slowing down.

"Loosing Nina was hard for all of us, we should have seen that something was happening there at the estate but we didn't! It hurt me too, I know I don't show emotions like you do or live like you do but I do know that I trust my brother, that I will live again one day soon" Al carried on with a sigh. "But if you're going to give up then go ahead, I won't be here to pick you up... just don't put us through this please" He said lowering his defense before walking away towards the doors he had snuck through.

"A-Al, d-don't... please, I-I need you" Ed's voice called to Alphonse, making him turn around.

Ed was standing with his head bowed down, his shoulders shaking slightly from supressed emotions. "I-I'm sorry that I've put you through this, I shouldn't have tried to put the past behind me and move on, carry the sorrows and torment I've ... we've seen in the past" He continued, his voice threatening to break but remained steady.

"Ed I didn't know..." Al replied.

"It's ok, we'll get our bodies back one day but for now we'll just survive through whatever the world throws at us now" Ed replied wiping at his eyes with his left arm and looked up with a grin.

"Right brother, the colonel was looking for you... something about a new lead for the philosphere's stone" Al replied sounding happier than what he was since entering the gym.

"Great Al, tell him I'll be there in ten minutes... want a shower first!" Ed replied with a grin, retrieving his jacket from where he threw it into the corner of the room along with his pocket watch.

"Ok brother" Al said and lef the gym to pass on the message.

Ed lost his smile and sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly with his automail arm before throwing his jacket over his shoulder and left the gymnasium reminding himself to tell the next person that they need to replace the cover of the punching bag before using it again.

_I will get our bodies back and live together once again, but do I want a normal life? Well only time will tell. _


End file.
